October 20, 2022

Interpretive Summary: Impact of digital dermatitis on locomotion and gait traits of beef cattle

Interpretive Summary: Impact of digital dermatitis on locomotion and gait traits of beef cattle

By: Anice D Thomas, Karin Orsel, Ed A Pajor

Digital dermatitis (DD) impacts cattle health, productivity, and welfare; and is an emerging challenge for the beef industry. The most obvious clinical sign associated with DD is lameness; however, not all cattle afflicted with DD will become lame. Typically, locomotion scoring systems are used to assess lameness in cattle. These scoring systems are not specific for hoof pathologies, may not account for subtle changes in gait, and often reflect the needs of dairy cattle. Consequently, nonlame cattle with DD often go undiagnosed. By observing locomotion and other gait traits together we can identify gait traits that are most associated with DD in beef cattle and thereby develop targeted protocols for DD detection. Cattle with DD were consistently more associated with being lame compared to DD-free cattle. The two most important gait traits associated with cattle with DD were reluctance to bear weight (WB) and asymmetric gait (AG); however, their sensitivity to distinguish cattle with DD was low. These findings indicate that locomotion scoring that includes a focus on WB and AG is the best tool to detect DD in beef cattle.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.